NEW ‘HOMEBIRD’ RANGE DRAWS ON EQUIPMENT EXPERTISE OF INTERFOOD

A new range of sliced chicken and turkey products from a primary supplier of high quality meats to the Irish market is being produced using equipment supplied by Interfood Technology.

O’Brien Fine Foods is based in County Kildare, a family run business which numbers Tesco, Lidl, Musgrave, Dunnes and BWG Foods amongst the companies to which it supplies own label products. Originally trading as the Brady Family with some 18 members of staff back in 2000, the business now has over 300 employees, with the Brady Family ham brand still a household name throughout Ireland.

In 2017 O’Brien Fine Foods came together with Hogan’s Farm and Manor Farm to launch Homebird – the only Irish chicken or turkey available in cooked meat slices. The company has based its success on home-raised produce and Homebird is produced from chickens and turkeys supplied by its own farms in Ireland, with 100 percent natural ingredients in a range approved by Bord Bia (the company was the first ham producer to receive Bord Bia Quality Assurance). Also fundamental to its quality philosophy is the equipment used across the company’s two production facilities. Central to the production of Homebird, as well as to the other cooked meats in its range, are several machines from Interfood, the specialists in food processing equipment. A Maurer Atmos cooker is used in the cooking of the meat, a Schroeder machine in the injecting and lacerating, a Poly-clip clipper to form the slicing logs, Weber slicers for slicing and a Sparc metal detector in the end-of-line packing of the product - all supplied by Interfood Technology.

Paul Creighton, Engineering Manager at O’Brien Fine Foods, recognises the importance of the relationship with Interfood – “We started working with Interfood through James Wells at Interfood’s dedicated Irish office back in 2006 when we first purchased a Weber slicer. Since then we have invested in further Weber slicers, along with a wide range of other equipment. The service levels offered by Interfood are the best in the market. The allocation of technicians to the different divisions through which Interfood operates, including the separating of high and low risk, is a real benefit for us, with the technicians offering expertise in dedicated areas. Having visibility of the spares held at Interfood’s Irish facility in Carrick-on-Suir also means that we don’t have to stock the spare parts ourselves and we know that we are going to get a very quick turn-around in terms of service.”

The focus of the new Homebird range is to provide a product which tastes like home-cooked chicken and turkey, offering consumers new and inspiring ways to enjoy the first brand in cooked sliced meats to use chickens and turkeys raised in Ireland.

James Wells, Director of Interfood Ireland, comments – “Our association with O’Brien Fine Foods started in a very small way when both companies were looking to make their mark on the industry in their formative years. Our relationship has always been one built on trust and transparency and this holds true throughout the whole chain, from engineering to sales to product formulation. We are delighted to have been a partner in the successes thus far of O’Brien Fine Foods as we both strive to bring new and innovative solutions to the table and, on behalf of myself and all the Interfood team, we wish them every continued success in the future.”

O’Brien Fine Foods continues to expand, having extended its facility by 8,000 square metres in 2016. Interfood is also investing in developing its future business, having relocated its Head Office in July 2017 to new premises some four times larger than its original site.